Your Brand = Your Personality
I know it may sound a little farfetched but the truth is…
Everything that you have created, built or grown, be it personal passion projects or a business, they are a direct representation of you and your personality.
Let me share with you some of my experiences and what my clients have commented which resonates with today’s topic of “Your Brand = Your Personality”
Being a musician, performer and music lover
Today, I can confidently say that out of every 10 videos I made and paired with the music of my choice, 8 of them were pleasing to my clients.
Most of them loved how the music elevated the emotional aspect of their brand’s story or how they matched the mood of the video. I think my personality as a musician in the past made these little gestures possible — spending the last decade or so performing radio hits in pubs might be the main culprit. Experimenting with different playing styles to match the emotional aspects of the songs. When I was much younger, I would listen to a song on repeat while riding the bus daily. Eventually, my mind would wander off and create music videos or scenes that match the song. Fast forward to today, this habit of mine is still going strong.
Being an Introvert
Growing up, I have always been that little dude who sits in a corner minding my own business. I kept my distance and shied away from people most of the time. This made me curious about my surroundings and slowly, I fell in love with observing people. Being observant helped me be a better candid portrait photographer — watching how humans interact and anticipating what will happen next. Today, most of the photography jobs I get hired to do involve capturing candid moments — kid’s birthdays, family events, music performances, etc. About my business of making brand story videos for my clients, these traits helped me to observe and understand how they feel being behind the camera, and what their services and products are all about. Framing my shots better, looking at each project from different perspectives and moulding the final product into something relatable for their audience.
Teaching music, a music teacher
Right after serving my national service, I joined a company that provides music classes for kids and teens. Teaching taught me to be patient with my student, stooping down to their levels, putting my ego or perfectionism aside and using simple syllabuses to breeze through complicated passages. I find that using these traits I have acquired from teaching helped me to personalise my services and understand my client’s vision, goals and creative directions better. I know it can get rather annoying when your clients refuse to believe in your professional opinions despite the good it brings. Having a teacher’s mindset has helped me surpass these difficult situations with ease. At the end of the day, everyone wants to walk away a winner and it is my job as a service provider to understand and serve them better. Just like teachers, we want all of our students to excel in life the right way. With enough patience and levelling ourselves according to situations, we can move mountains.
Summary
From the examples above, we can see how my personality shapes my brand. Today, I help my clients to reach their audience through brand story videos.
Let’s dive deeper into the business model of “Brand Story.” I feel that stories are beautiful and captivating. People tend to remember stories more than numbers or statistics. However, sharing your heartfelt stories with a person you’ve just met (me) might be a little overwhelming. Plus, speaking and being in front of the camera… double whammy! I guess this is all made possible by my personality as a teacher, an Introvert or a musician. Without my personality shaping my brand and beliefs, I might not be able to successfully help my clients today.
- Being a musician/performer has helped me to select better music for my videos
- Being an introvert/observer has helped me to look at things from different angles, from afar
- Being a teacher has helped me to be more patient and understanding
Therefore, I believe that our personality is what shapes our brand, allowing us to be unique.
Beautiful isn’t it?
Thanks for reading!
- Alfred Twj
